The Werewolf and the Dog Star
by Moony-is-my-life
Summary: Remus Lupin was never accepted into Hogwarts and is instead an orphan who finally decides he has had enough and runs away. Sirius Black is a rich aristocrat who comes across a homeless boy in Diagon Alley. The two become friends and possibly something else... RLSB
1. The Bad Field

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.**

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx- Saturday, April 27th, 1968**

Remus Lupin pushed open the door and walked into the cold night air. His parents were fighting again, he could hear the shouts, sobs, threats, and occasional slams as his mother was once again hit. He didn't like when his parents fought, he didn't understand it. None of his friend's parents fought, they hugged and kissed like normal mommy and daddies did.

Remus sighed and walked into the forest surrounding their house.

There had been a time when his parents got along, but then _It_ happened.

Remus stepped over a log.

His father had been fired from his high-paying ministry job.

Remus clambered over the rocks.

Remus had only been five when it happened. His father had tried to work through it, he would go out job-hunting and sometimes mow lawns for money. Their family was still happy.

But it hadn't been enough.

Their house was put up for foreclosure. The only reason they weren't out on the streets was because of his grandmother who had let them have the second bedroom. They lived there for awhile until they were able to get back up on their feet.

Eventually, his father did get a job, a cashier at the local liquor store. With only his small salary, they managed to afford a beaten up farmhouse in the middle of nowhere. It was good, better than nothing, but apparently not enough for his father. He had taken up drinking, drugs, and would sometimes hit him or his mother in his drunken stupor. Somehow his mother still loved the man for reasons unknown to Remus. She wouldn't comment when he would come home smelling of cheap perfume and prostitutes, she just had a hot dinner at his place at the table.

But his mother still had pictures of when their family was normal. When they were a perfect family. Remus could hear her crying on nights his father didn't come home.

By now Remus was at the edge of the forest, staring at the long expanse of the green field ahead of him.

He could remember the first time he had stepped foot in these fields. He had decided to run away at six and only made it as far as the river before his father caught him.

Remus took a small step back.

He could still remember the beating he received afterward, it left him sobbing in his mother's arms upstairs while his father downed his second bottle of Fire Whiskey that night.

But that was two years ago, Remus was eight now and no longer afraid of his father. Well, sort of.

But he sucked in his breath and walked into the field, giggling as the grass tickled his legs. A stream bubbled nearby, giving off an aura of calm, a calm Remus hadn't experienced since before _It_.

Abandoning all fears, Remus leaped and hollered through the field, all traces of worry and sadness gone. He ran until he collapsed at the edge of a bubbling river.

Remus looked up, his face smudged with dirt, a figure seemed to be sleeping behind the tall grass on the other side of the stream, it looked a bit like a dog. Remus liked dogs but he was never allowed near them due to his father's allergies.

But his father wasn't here Remus reminded himself, he could pet the dog if he wanted to.

So he rolled up his pajama pants and put one foot in. The water was cold and pieces of plucked grass brushed up against his ankles as they floated past.

He put in another foot and started to wade across the shallow river towards the dog. It appeared to be sleeping with its eyes closed, mouth slightly open, revealing a fat pink tongue and two sets of sharp teeth.

It didn't look like any dog Remus had seen before, it was larger than most and gave off a feeling of unease.

Feeling slightly scared, he stepped back but slipped on the mud at the edge, sending him into the water with a splash.

At the unexpected sound, the dog's eyes snapped open and a menacing growl tore through its throat.

Remus scrambled up quickly but the dog was faster, it leapt up, pushing Remus back into the water with the force of its paws. Sharp teeth ripped at his clothes and bit down on his side, hard.

Remus was aware that someone was screaming, it was him. The dog raked its claws down his stomach and legs, leaving long scratches that were sure to scar. He could feel the sticky liquid running down his face from where the dog had scratched him. Golden eyes stared down at him, these weren't the eyes of a dog, these were the eyes of a _monster._

Eventually after another bite and more scratches a red beam of light hit the wolf, making it run back to the safety of the trees.

Sobs and screams tore through the air as hands flittered across Remus' face and the rest of his body checking for more injuries. His mother's face was staring down at him, her eyes filled with tears and fear, something Remus was quite used to now.

He could barely hear her as she cradled her baby to her chest and begged her husband to help him. But Remus didn't want help, it hurt too much, he wanted to die, for it to be over with already.

But his father reluctantly bent down next to Remus and began to cast the necessary healing spells on him, fixing the smaller cuts and replenishing his blood.

It did very little, Remus was slipping into unconsciousness. His head lolled against his mother's chest and he felt her tears stinging his cheeks as his father apparated them away to St. Mungo's where someone could help him.

Unfortunately for Remus, the apparition pushed him over the edge as his head rolled back and his eyes shut.

His last conscious thought was: ' _Bad things must always happen in that field, I at least hope the doggy's okay. He probably didn't mean to hurt me. He was just playing.'_

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 **Author's Note: Oh my god, I almost broke my own heart writing this.**

 **REVIEW!**

 **Flames are for the firepit.**


	2. Watching

**Disclaimer: I wish.**

 **Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx- Tuesday night, August 24th, 1971**

Remus woke with a start and placed a scarred hand over his chest. It was just a dream, just a dream he had to remind himself.

He had been bitten five years ago and was now living in an orphanage for magical children and squibs. He was the only werewolf. An outcast.

All he could remember from his dismal past was shouting and the blurred faces of two people who he assumed to be his family. That, and a kind girl staring down at him as he awoke for the first time since the bite. The girl, a kind red-head, explained to him what he was now and that his parents had abandoned him at the orphanage. She had been his only source of comfort. She'd feed him when the headmistress refused or forgot to and hold him after his nightmares.

But then one day an infertile couple came and took her away. "She was adopted, idiot" the other kids would say whenever he asked where his friend went.

The other children didn't like him for being a werewolf. They would tease him, tauntingly show off their new Hogwarts robes, steal his books, whisper "freak" in his ears and hit him. As a result, the brunette grew up malnourished and about as confident as a crumbling brick wall.

Taking another deep breath to steady his racing heart, Remus pulled back his tattered blue blanket and slid into a sitting position so that his feet were touching the dusty floor below.

Remus shared one gigantic room with seventeen other boys. The beds were metal bunk beds with scratchy sheets that left red rashes and faint marks. All held two people. Well, except for Remus'. No one wanted to be that close to him for fear of being 'contaminated.'

Besides that, a door leading to the bathroom and a tall wardrobe was all. The headmistress didn't like wasting money on them.

Checking to make sure his roommates were still asleep, he hopped out of bed and stalked toward the other side of room to the dirt-crusted bay window. It was their only light source besides the old lightbulb that often flickered on and off.

It wasn't the most glamorous place to live but they had food, never mind how small the portions were. They had clothes, never mind how tattered they were. And were allowed to bathe every two days, never mind the black mold and mildew. It was pretty good.

Except for the prejudice. The lycanthrope was often treated different from everyone, and not in a good way. Sometimes they forgot to feed him or patch his clothes when the holes became unbearable, or tell the other children off when the beat him up, which was a usual occurrence.

The small boy sighed and pushed himself up onto the sill so he could watch outside.

Remus loved watching. People, animals, occasional ministry folk and vampires who only ventured out at night often walked down the dimly lit street, unaware to the little, freckled face observing them from the second story of Matilda Maverick's Home for Magical Children. The watching was quite entertaining, especially when some drunken idiots stumbled out of the bar next door and started fighting.

But there was no one to watch tonight except for an old stray dog sniffing at a moldy sandwich. Not too interesting, unfortunately.

Remus sighed and leaned his head up against the cold glass before eventually drifting off to sleep.  
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Author's Note: Sorry for the short chapter. Feel free to tell me how you liked it in the reviews. No flames, please. :)


	3. A Possible Plan

**Disclaimer: Still don't own.**

 **Wow, new chapter already!**

 **Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx- Wednesday, August 25th, 1971**

Remus awoke to sound of someone pounding on the door and the flurry of sheets as his roommates scrambled out of bed at the noise.

' _Dammit_ ,' he thought from his position at the window, ' _I should have been up by now and in the bathroom unnoticed. I'm such an idiot. I know how dangerous the tiniest bit of attention is!_ '' Remus mentally slapped himself and gently hopped off the edge of the window. Trying to be as inconspicuous as possible, he stayed to the side and quietly attempted to cross over to his bed on the other side of the room. Unfortunately, he failed.

"Where ya goin', Lupin? Off to go eat some Lil' kids like the freak you are?" Samuel Buckley, a tall and powerful red-head, shoved Remus to the ground.

Samuel arrived at the orphanage only two years after Remus at the age of ten. His father was killed in a staged house fire and his mother left him since she wasn't able to support a child and herself at the same time. Like most of the new children, he was quiet and withdrawn for about a month after being abandoned.

At least until he met the Brown brothers. The three immediately hit it off and made it their habit to wreak as much havoc as possible upon the old building and it's occupants, occasionally slipping toads inside the girl's bathroom and making loud noises to disturb the babies in the nursery.

Unfortunately, only seven months later the Brown brothers were adopted by an old farmer who needed a strong pair of helpers on his farm. Samuel, angry at the loss of his best friends, took it out on everyone around him. Especially Remus.

Now, Remus never did anything to Samuel at all. The blonde just hated him for being a werewolf like most of the orphanage did. As a result, the lycanthrope was his prime target.

"I asked ya a question, Lupin! Answer it, you stupid lycan!" Pain blossomed in Remus' side as he was kicked in his ribs. They had been broken last full moon and were still pitifully attempting to heal. Not anymore, though.

"N-No. I just w-w-wanted to take a sho-shower."

"Is that so? Too bad. My buddies and I want to have a bit o' fun. I suggest you just sit back and relax. It won't hurt as much." By now some other boys had gathered around Remus and were glaring down at him menacingly. They weren't exactly what one would call friends with Samuel, but they enjoyed tormenting people together. And that was good enough for the other boy.

One of the children standing next to his bruised arm reached down and yanked him up by his pajama collar. He reeled back his fist, urged on by the chanting around them. Remus shut his eyes tight and mentally prepared himself for the injury that was sure to come.

Fortunately for him, the walls were paper thin and the headmistress, who had been scolding one of the younger girls for biting her sister, rushed in at the sound of the jeers. ' _Thank Merlin,_ ' Remus thought as he was hurriedly dropped to the ground.

The headmistress, or better known as Matilda Maverick, was a short old lady with an ugly nest of dark gray hair, always neatly kept up in a bun, and hooded blue eyes that made her look permanently angry and annoyed at her charges. The fact that she rarely smiled and her clammy pale skin didn't help. Instead of looking like the regal pure blood she was, the woman resembled an angry, sick possum with constipation issues.

"What is going on here, boys? I told you to put on presentable clothing, not harass the other children! Do you want to miss the Diagon trip and Hogwarts altogether? I have the power to forbid you to go, as you all know by now."

Samuel and his friends ducked their heads and murmured an apology before quickly turning back to get ready. No one wanted to anger the headmistress any further.

"That's what I thought," she huffed and glared down at them. "Now chop-chop. We floo off in an hour."

Every year the kids going to Hogwarts were taken out to get their robes and such that they would need for the year. It was considered a holiday and one of the most treasured times in their depressing lives, for they were almost never allowed to leave the orphanage unless a family member requested it. The trip was easily an important and memorable occasion that left an impact on most for a good deal of time. Everyone loved it.

Except for Remus.

Ever since he was a small boy, the fact that he would never be allowed to go to Hogwarts was drilled into him through beatings or just the constant reminder of the consistent full moon. But the thought of a chance still thrummed powerfully in him.

Finally, though, this year he had turned eleven on March 10th and as a result frequently spent his time waiting expectantly for his letter with small bits of hope clawing at his insides in a feverish, furious way.

Unfortunately, it didn't come.

He cried himself to sleep that night, oblivious to his roommate's discussions regarding houses. Not only would he be missing the famed Diagon trip, his dreams of possibly attending the legendary magic school had been crushed.

It took a bit, but a plan was formed.

No, it would not get him into Hogwarts or Beauxbatons or Durmstrang, but he would have a chance to finally escape his drab life in the old, creaky house in which he had been raised.

It was going to be hard of course. Sneaking out in a small group of children wasn't an easy feat on its own, and being one of the most despised and recognized orphans didn't help either. But he had spent almost every night since thinking about his idea and was confident that it was possible. It was idiotic, unfeasible, and completely unheard of, but probable, and that was all that mattered.  
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 **Author's Note: I don't like how this chapter turned out. Tell me what you think of it in the reviews.**

 **Don't flame. It makes Smokey the Bear angry.**


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